PRIORITIES & OBJECTIVES FOR 2018

December 22, 2017
Posted in News
December 22, 2017 admin

PRIORITIES & OBJECTIVES FOR 2018

Luca had a good season.

2017 will be remembered as a year where he immersed himself into racing for the first time … and he loved it! It was fantastic as a father to watch. Luca’s joy coming off track was only surpassed by his maturity on track. It takes determination, dedication and discipline to succeed – Luca showed that he has these qualities in abundance.

WHAT OF 2017?

He is quick, competitive and committed. He has an eagerness to learn and an acute curiosity to match. When applied to a racing focus, he has shown a willingness to search for the edge of faster … intelligently. He’s a very exciting driver to watch. His posture is relaxed and it looks like he has an abundance of time. His overtaking moves have left me breathless at times as he shows both courage and exceptional timing. He has a strong foundation on which we can build to develop his race craft.

WHAT FOR 2018?

Our priority for 2018 is seat time. We will be traveling to Calspeed in Fontana, CA to practice as much as possible and to compete in the Tri-C LO206 Jr Championship.

Luca could have competed in the Mini Swift Championship at LAKC, also at Calspeed, but he had outgrown the Cadet 2 chassis. He was asking it to do more than it was designed for and it was starting to hold him back.

We decided to challenge him with an adult chassis and to drop a Briggs & Stratton LO206 engine into it. Most kids moving up from the Mini swift category usually go straight into the Tag Junior class with an IAME X30 engine which reach speeds of 90mph. I think that’s a mistake. The Mini Swift and X30 engines are so quick on accelerations that they mask driver mistakes. The LO206 engine is unforgiving. You make an error and the engine loses all momentum. As a competitive racer, you learn very quickly that to be exceptional, you have to master momentum.

Most critically, as all engines are the same, the differenciator between drivers is race craft and not budget.

I want Luca to focus on developing his race craft first. I want to slow him down to make him faster. The speed will come when he graduates to X30. He will use that momentum to greater effect. It will make him a better driver and more accomplished racer.

It’s going to be a challenging and exciting year.